


The Ball

by phoenix316



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29183997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenix316/pseuds/phoenix316
Summary: The Yule Ball is a magical time, though a bit terrifying for the Champions who have to choose a date. How and why does Viktor Krum end up choosing Hermione Granger?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Viktor Krum
Kudos: 29





	The Ball

**Author's Note:**

> I started this 15 years ago and finally got around to finishing it. It's what I consider some missing Scenes for The Goblet of Fire since that story is told mostly from Harry's point of view (as are all of them). I hope you enjoy. This is pairing that I find far more likely than Ron and Hermione. Maybe I need to jump in the future and see what the plot bunnies have to tell me about them.

Headmaster Karkaroff had told Viktor about the Triwizard Tournament and the fact that there would be a Yule Ball over the holidays. Viktor had never been fond of returning home for the holidays, feeling more at home amongst his classmates, so it did not bother him that he would not be returning home. What did bother him is that he would have to have a date. It wasn't that he didn't like women, it was just that they seemed to like him for the wrong reasons – because he was a famous Quidditch player.

He had hoped the spending the term at Hogwarts would afford him the opportunity to find someone who would see him for everything he was, but thanks to the Quidditch World Cup having been held in Britain, many of the Hogwarts girls were fawning over him just as the Durmstrang girls did.

For a while he had contemplated asking one of the Beauxbaton girls, but after having watched them for a few weeks, he determined that they were too snooty for him. While he did catch one or two of them looking at him when they didn't think he was watching, he didn't like the idea that they acted as though he was beneath them.

But there was one girl in Hogwarts who didn't pay much attention to him – Hermione Granger. She wasn't a striking beauty in the classical sense, but he could see the beauty beneath her bushy hair and lack of makeup, and he liked that natural beauty. She did not pretend to be something she wasn't. And he learned that she was quite brilliant – something he admired.

While everyone knew him as a fantastic Quidditch player, he was also top of his class. No one recognized Viktor the Academic. Perhaps if he could get her attention, he could finally find someone who would appreciate him for his mind.

There were several things preventing him from this. First was the fact that he was followed by a sycophantic group of girls almost everywhere he went. Second, she was generally in the company of Harry Potter, and Viktor had been warned not to socialize with the other champions.

He had been spending time in the library, researching spells for whatever he might face in the Tournament, but also hoping to get Hermione alone. It was now getting perilously close to the Yule Ball, and he was afraid that someone else would ask her.

Finally, the stars aligned. He managed to slip into the library almost unnoticed and Hermione was alone. He walked up to her table and cleared his throat. "Is dis seat taken?" he asked in what he hoped was a charming voice.

She looked at him for a moment and then looked around the library, searching for his entourage. After a few moments, she replied, "No," and returned to reading her book.

"I am sure dat you know my name is Viktor, could you tell me yours?" He smiled at her.

She looked a little irritated, but replied, "It's Hermione."

"Herm-own-ninny," he repeated tentatively.

She started to correct him, "Her-my-oh-nee. Oh never mind," she said and returned to her book.

"No, please, I vish to know how to say your name."

She slammed her book shut. "Why?"

He looked down at his hands on the table. Talking to girls had never come easily to him. "Because I vould like to get to know you. You are bright and you are cute. And I vould like you to go to Ball vith me."

"I'm sorry?" she asked, clearly confused by what he was saying.

Afraid that she was having trouble understanding his heavily accented English, he spoke more slowly and tried to enunciate. "I vould like you to go to Ball with me."

"I-I don't know what to say. I mean you could ask anyone."

"Yes. And I haf asked you. You who vill see me as person and not Quidditch star. I am much more zen Quidditch player. I very much enjoy my studies and Charms is my favorite subject. Please, say you vill go vith me."

She considered his invitation for several excruciatingly long moments before replying, "I would be honored to go with you, though I would like to get to know you a little better before then."

"Of course. I vill look for you here after classes."

She smiled at him. "I'd like that."

"Thank you, Herm-own-ninny. You haff made me very happy." He stood and bowed smartly at her before leaving, a spring in his step.

*****

Hermione watched him walk away. He was the last person she had expected to ask her to the ball. She had expected Ron or Harry, but neither of them seemed to see her as anything more than a friend, not a real girl. Viktor had said he was more than a Quidditch player, something that was clearly true if the Goblet had selected him as the Durmstrang Champion. Well, she would have time to find out over the next several weeks, assuming he could get away from his admirers.

Now Hermione found that she wanted to share this news with someone, but she had no idea who. She wasn't that close to her dormmates, and she knew they would make a big deal about this as she had overheard them hoping Viktor would ask them. There was really only one person she could tell.

Closing the book she had been reading, she set it to the side to be reshelved and packed up her notes. She then walked back to Gryffindor Tower, hoping to catch Ginny alone. The common room was crowded with people talking about the Ball and who they had asked, wanted to ask, or hoped would ask them. She managed to catch Ginny's eyes, and gestured for the stairs.

Hermione waited on the first level landing and was joined a short time later.

"What's up?" Ginny asked.

Hermione glanced into Ginny's dorm room, and seeing it was empty, entered, waiting until Ginny closed the door to speak. "I have something I need to tell you that I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially not Ron."

"Okay," Ginny replied, now curious about what Hermione wanted to confide in her.

Hermione sat on Ginny's bed and Ginny joined her. "I was in the library today and the most unusual thing happened." She paused a moment. "Viktor Krum asked me to the Ball."

"Really?" Ginny asked, clearly shocked.

"I was just as surprised as you. He actually had to ask me twice because I wasn't sure I heard him properly the first time. I mean, he could ask anyone, and they would have said yes without hesitation, yet he asked me."

"And what did you say?" Ginny asked, realizing Hermione hadn't told her.

"I said yes."

"Wow! You are going to be a Champion's date. Everyone is going to be jealous of you. I'm jealous of you."

"Maybe Harry will ask you? He hasn't asked anyone yet," Hermione offered. She knew the boys found this quite intimidating.

"Well, actually Neville asked me yesterday afternoon and I said yes," Ginny admitted. "I didn’t want to wait for Harry to ask me and have him ask someone else instead and then I couldn't go."

"There's nothing wrong with Neville. I think he'll be a great date," Hermione offered. She had spent a lot of time helping him with Potions over the years and knew he was definitely underestimated by a lot of people.

"Thanks." There was a momentary silence. "Back to Viktor, did he just ask you or did he talk to you?"

"He tried talking to me, but I think he's shy talking to girls. He wanted me to know that he's more than a Quidditch player." She wasn't sure how to admit the next part. "He thinks I'm bright, and well…"

Ginny was on the edge of the bed. "What?"

"He thinks I'm cute," she admittedly quietly and knew she was blushing.

"He's not wrong. Just no one tends to notice it because the other girls spend more attention to their looks."

"Maybe," she said uncomfortably. "But we are going to try to meet up a few times before the Ball so I can get to know him better."

"That's exactly what this Tournament is about, isn't it?" said Ginny.

"It is. But I still don't want you to tell Ron. I just don't want to deal with them knowing who I'm going with. I'm sure they will make it out to be something it isn't."

"Your secret is safe with me. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see who you are going with."

Hermione wasn't sure about that. She knew how much Ron revered Viktor and how he would likely see her choosing to go with Viktor as a betrayal. But he had had his opportunity to ask her. It wasn't as though she accepted Viktor's invitation the moment the Yule Ball was announced. It had been weeks.

*****

Viktor was slightly nervous. While he and Hermione had been able to meet a couple of times, he still found it hard to shake his admirers. He still wasn't very good at pronouncing her name, but he was trying and she didn’t seem to mind helping him. As he had suspected, they had a lot in common due to their love of learning. And he found his English was improving the more he talked with her. Whenever she chose to correct him, she always did so gently and not judging him. When he had asked, she had told him it was because she remembered how hard it had been for her to learn French, and she wished people had been kind in correcting her rather than belittling her for getting it wrong. Unfortunately he knew less French than English, but he didn't mind. There were times she just smiled gently when he had difficulty pronouncing a word. He thought she looked so beautiful when she smiled. When he had tried to compliment her, she had insisted he was being too kind to her, that she wasn't worthy of his praise. He knew otherwise. He could see a beauty she didn't know she possessed.

He was waiting in the entrance hall for her to arrive. When he saw her coming down the stairs, his breath was taken away. Her hair was perfectly coiffed in a beautiful updo and she was wearing the most amazing periwinkle blue robes. He smiled warmly at her. "You look very beautiful."

She blushed at his praise, "Thank you. You look quite handsome in your dress robes."

"Thank you. I think I am luckiest wizard here tonight."

Hermione cast a glance at Fleur. "I don’t know, that might be Roger."

Viktor looked over at the beautiful Beauxbatons champion. "She complains too much, I am thinking."

When it was time for them enter, Viktor did so proudly, knowing that he truly was the luckiest wizard. He tried to converse over dinner, but he kept getting chastised by his headmaster for being too friendly, telling Hermione too much about Durmstrang. He was proud of his school and wanted Hermione to know that it was more than the dark rumors that swirled around it.

Finally, it was time for dancing. Something he had both anticipated and dreaded. He knew he was not always the most graceful person on the ground, but he had practiced many hours in deserted rooms in the castle knowing that he and the other champions would be required to do the first dance and there would be no crowd to hide in.

After the dance, she said, "Thank you for a wonderful dance."

"You are velcome." He could see she was flushed. "Vould you like drink?"

"Yes, please."

He gave a small bow. "I vill get one for you." As he headed towards the drink station, he saw her heading toward her friend Potter.

After navigating the long line, he went to the table where Potter was and found her gone. " Vare is Herm-own-ninny?" he asked of her two friends.

"No idea," said Ron mulishly, looking up at him. "Lost her, have you?"

Viktor had no idea why the red haired one was being so rude with him, but he tried to sound polite as he said, "Veil, if you see her, tell her I haff drinks." He then turned to see if he could find her. He found her on the far side of the room. He could see she was troubled. "Is something wrong?" he asked, afraid he had done something to upset her.

"Just Ron. I really don't want to talk about him." She took the butterbeer he was offering her. "Thank you for the drink." She took a sip. "That was a wonderful dance. You were very graceful."

"Thank you. I practiced to not embarrass you." Even though she had complimented him, he knew he had not been the best dancer. "Vould you like to dance some more?" he asked, knowing that his fan club would be less likely to approach him if he was dancing with Hermione.

She smiled at him. "I'd like that very much." She set her drink on the table after one last draft and offered him her hand.

The two of them spent most of the evening on the dance floor. As the evening was winding down, he led her to the drink station, not wanting to lose sight of her or be accosted by one of the other girls. Once they had their drinks, he led her out into the garden.

"It's so beautiful with the fairy lights, isn't it?" she observed.

"Not so beautiful as you," he replied.

"You're exaggerating," she replied as she looked down at the ground.

He stopped walking and used his finger to gently raise her chin so she was looking at him. "I am not. You may not see it. Others may not see it. But I do." He leaned forward and let his lips gently brush against hers.

"I want to thank you for a lovely evening, Viktor, but I don’t think I'm ready."

"Of course. I am sorry. I vant us to be friends."

She reached down and held his hands. "Me too."

They walked and talked in the garden until it was nearly midnight. "I vould like one last dance tonight, vould you?"

"I would like that very much," she replied and they walked hand and hand back to the Great Hall.

After enjoying one last dance, they followed the crowd into the entrance hall. "Thank you for vonderful evening. This has been my best day at Hogwarts," he said sincerely. He wanted to give her another kiss, but he knew she wouldn't be comfortable with a kiss on the lips, so he softly brushed his lips against her cheek.

"I had a great time, Viktor. Thank you," she said, her cheeks flushed from the kiss.

"I vill try to find you in library, yes?" he asked hopefully.

"I'd like that very much. Good night," she said before turning towards her dormitory.

Viktor felt as though he was floating as he made his way back to the Durmstrang ship.


End file.
